"Laser" light shows are popular forms of entertainment. Typical laser light shows involve a device that generates many different light patterns and projects these patterns on to surfaces such as walls, ceilings, screens, floors, sidewalks, fog, smoke, etc. However, the devices employed for generating and projecting these laser light patterns are large, complex and expensive, whereby these laser light displays are only viewable at large events, concerts or the like.
One device known for generating light patterns is a LASER ONE.TM. FX machine available from Hoffman Products International, Inc., Dallas, Tex. This machine generates various patterns by shining a beam of laser light onto a first large rotating mirror, that in turn reflects this beam onto a second larger diameter rotating mirror, prior to the beam leaving the device as a pattern. The mirrors are positioned, such that the reflected beam travels in a serial manner, but does cross over itself at any point along the beam pathway. The motors associated with rotating the mirrors are only capable of rotating the mirrors at a maximum of 3000 RPM.
As a result of this arrangement, the LASER ONE.TM. FX machine exhibits several drawbacks. With only two mirrors of increasing diameter in alignment to produce a serial path of laser beam travel, that does not cross over itself, the number of possible patterns generated is limited. Moreover, this mirror arrangement, and subsequent serial path of laser beam travel causes the projected beam to contact or impact the mirror surfaces at angles substantially less than perpendicular thereto (approximately 45 degrees), these angles commonly referred to as extreme angles. Contact or impact on the mirrors at these extreme angles is commonly known as extreme angle impact, and results in elliptical aberrations in the patterns produced by this device. The speed of the motors (maximum 3000 RPM) also limits the number of potential patterns.
Should a device be desired that produces additional patterns in accordance with the LASER ONE.TM. mirror arrangement, i.e., serial, any successive mirror or mirrors would have to be larger in diameter, to reflect all of the continued divergent beam directed thereon. Therefore, the size of the device would have to be increased to accommodate these additional larger diameter mirrors.